So life is back on track after a nearly week long trip to Orlando for the ACA Conference. I am just now getting back to a somewhat normal sleep schedule, and have finally gotten the “After Conference Boredom Blues” in check. I met a lot of awesome people and groups at the ACA, and I want to acknowledge everyone I can in a series of posts about the great work they are doing, or simply the great people they are.
Today the person and organization I want to share with you is the company prostheticInk.com, and it’s founder Dan Horkey.
I met Dan late in the evening of my first night there. He had recently sent a friend request to me on FaceBook, and I was pretty stoked about it. See, in the amputee world the guy is kinda famous, and the art he produces is amazing! When I met him, that’s pretty much what I said to him. I was surprised by his response to me, which was I was the famous one! I disagree, but that ought to tell you something about this man. He has a great attitude, and is totally down to earth about who he is.
And who he is… well he is an amputee who has put himself out there to help other amputees. Dan, through his company Prosthetic INK, provides one of a kind artwork for amputee prosthetics, both veteran and civilian. Wearing a prosthetic can be a hard thing, both emotionally and physically. “Able-Bodied” individuals tend to stare, and it can cause very awkward situations when they are talking about the weather but in their mind they are screaming “YOUR LEG! YOUR LEG!”
Prosthetic tattoo art provides self esteem, but it also provides an ice-breaking moment. It –among other things– allows the elephant in the room to be discussed. Instead of getting looks of pity and a sorrowful “I’m so sorry you don’t have a leg,” you get a look of awe and surprise and “wow, that is the coolest looking leg ever!”
That can make all the difference in the world to an amputee. We don’t want pity. We don’t need sorrow… We have already moved past that. Dan helps us express that with his artwork.
[youtube=//www.youtube.com/watch?v=L532Uoxlpow&w=560&h=315]
See? Cool stuff, right?
Instead of a plain old prosthetic socket, or a none-too-realistic heavy cover, you could have something like this!
This is just a sampling of the great work Dan Horkey and Prosthetic INK can do.
For those able bodied who read my blog, you may not understand the significance… But an amputee seeing this will be drooling right now!
Dan has gone from the basics above, to doing high tech chrome in every color you could imagine!
Not only that, but while at the conference I got to take a sneak peek at a prototype cover Dan has designed that will both fill out that ever-present slimness around the lower leg area that amputees get when wearing pants, and also provide protection to components of the prosthetic…. All without that dreaded silicone cover look.
Dan can do just about any design you could imagine on prosthetic devices as well as orthotic devices.
So, if you get a chance, go check out Prosthetic INK, or do like I do and follow Dan on Twitter.